Award-Winning GMing Advice
Gnome Stew won the silver ENnie Award for Best Blog in
2011 and
2010 -- thank you for your support! Online since 2008, we've published
1,183 articles packed with GMing tips and advice, as well as
two books for GMs. Our
top 30 articles make a great starting point for new readers.
"I check Gnome Stew every day." -- Monte Cook
"fantastic blog for game masters, dungeon masters, and rpg fans" -- Wil Wheaton
"If you aren’t reading Gnome Stew, you’re missing out." -- Wolfgang Baur
With Villains & Vigilantes back in action this summer, I thought I'd revisit a topic that had always bugged me about that system. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great game at the time and actually found it rather elegant compared to some other contemporary supergames (and V&V's ads in Dragon Magazine actually included a fully statted hero or villain--how cool is that!?). But the one ...
Reading a fascinating Guild Wars 2 design diary about character death penalties (via Penny Arcade) got me thinking about PC deaths in RPGs -- and specifically, about why PCs should ever be killed at all.
For your consideration:
Dying? Yawn
In the vast majority of traditional-style campaigns, regardless of the game, PCs almost never die for good. D&D is the main example, and also the source of why this stereotype tends ...
Recently, Jared von Hindman wrote an article for the Wizards website on why playing evil races is perfectly legitimate, and how to properly integrate yourself into a party if you are playing one. I’m a long-time fan of Mr. Hindman’s work at his website Head Injury Theater. In fact, one of my first major “Wooo! Someone on teh Intarwebz noticed me!” moments was getting my name in his ...
One of the issues any GM must deal with at some time or another is cheating. While fudging is a time-honored practice amongst some GMs, the same rarely holds true for the other side of the screen. There are many ways in which a player can outright cheat, even beyond pretending that the 5 they rolled on a d20 was really a 15.
Cheating can certainly have a negative ...
In the suggestion pot, I've hoisted up a sordid tale of brotherly contest and woe. Well, not really, but "earnestly guiding his kid brother to game mastery" just sounded too Lifetime movie, you know?
Salbic asked: Is there a way to “nudge” a GM who’s unwilling to change or grow?
In this case, we’re all pretty new to roleplaying. Our GM rejects any gamerunning-related reading (articles, blog posts) ...
Fudging is and always has been a hot topic -- here on the Stew, in most gaming groups, on message boards, you name it.
That's because it gets at the core of what gaming is all about, and once you figure out where you fall on the "NEVER FUDGE EVER EVER EVER!!!! -- I heart fudge, I love it, it's the bestest!!!!" spectrum, it reveals a pretty fundamental divide ...
If you’ve kept abreast of the latest round of fudge-related articles penned by Kurt (here, here, oh, and here) then you’re no doubt aware that this topic tends to fuel some, ahem, passionate replies at the Stew. In this particular case there was one specific bit that stood out to myself as rather unfortunate and it really has nothing to do with the fudge in question.
It’s all about ...
Phil's article made me think about my own GM evaluations over the years. While I've always been pretty good at self-criticism, it took me quite a while to realize that, when canvassing players, I was usually looking for affirmation, not criticism.
Let's face it; as a GM you put in a lot more time and effort than the average player. You're responsible for bringing an adventure to the table ...
While reading Patrick's article and related comments yesterday something struck me as a good Hot Button topic: As a Game Master, what do you do when two of your players break up and both wish to remain in the game?
If you've gamed for any respectable length of time, then you've probably had at least one romantic couple in your group. Sometimes they join as a couple. Sometimes one of them ...
Today's Hot Button is related to a previous article, but I think it is worth debating on its own.
Psionics (or psi powers, or psychic powers, etc) have traditionally had a troubled relationship in fantasy games, especially in Dungeons & Dragons and its various permutations and dirivatives. The first time I'd encountered psionics in RPGs was in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (1e), which relegated psionics to ...
I've been to three gaming conventions (GenCon 2007, 2008, 2009) and played in a lot of games. The overwhelming majority of these have involved pre-generated characters with little or no customization. I usually have a blast with these. Obviously, with only a 4-hour investment, it really doesn't matter to me what I play; I'd rather not waste time generating a character and be stuck with a 2-3 hour ...
No, this article is not about Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike...
Any successful roleplaying game will eventually have a new edition. No matter how well-written an RPG is, there will always be room for improvement. Broken rules, unanticipated needs, rules expansions, errata, clunky systems, etc. can make a new edition attractive to fans of the game.
However, a question always accompanies a new edition; namely, how closely should a new ...
In response to my article "The Concept of a Star Wars RPG Should Die in a Fire", the Star Wars community, as represented by www.d20radio.com has realized how untenable their hobby is.
We're getting together for a podcast to discuss the necessary transition from Star Wars to other RPG options on the evening of the 7th, 9 eastern, 6 pacific at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/order-66-podcast.
Be sure to join us to watch historic progress being made towards phasing out this blight on the hobby, ...
I can't stand playing in a Star Wars RPG.
The problem, as I see it, is there's two types of players in any Star Wars game. There's the 80% of players who have seen some or all of the movies, know who the big names are, understand some of the bigger themes and plots, or have heard about the setting, acknowledge that it's pretty awesome and want to play in it. Then there's the ...
This article is third in a three part series. You can read the first part here and the second part here.
While my gnomie buddies have been duking it out over whether you should or shouldn’t use a gaming table, I’m going to attack the topic from a different perspective: you should set up your gaming area to convey the type of session you are about to play.
...
